As some of you know, I am one of the candidates hoping to win one of Lothian's seven regional MSP places at the 5th May Scottish Parliament general election. Aye, that really is its full title, one hell of a mouthful. I'm standing as an independent candidate & announced I was standing on Tuesday. You can find out more about my campaign & why I'm standing via this press release - http://wp.me/p1m7AU-2J.

I wanted to say this in public so everybody knew where I stand. I don't want to abuse my Forest family & friends, but of course I am looking for all the support I can get. Some may say that I shouldn't canvass on the Forest's BB and I apologise if it offends you. However, others have said I should & honesty is always the best policy.

The most important thing about May's election is voting if you are entitled to. As I've said here before, most folk don't realise they are able to vote for Holyrood politicians. For clarity's sake, you can vote to elect MSPs if you are over 18 on the date of the election & one of the following.

• A British Subject.• From a Commonwealth Country.• A citizen of another European Union country.

The deadline to register to vote at the election is 1700 on Friday 15 April. If you want a postal vote then you need to apply by 1700 on Thursday 14 April. If you want a proxy vote (someone voting on your behalf), you have until Thursday 21 April. To register to vote, go to the Lothian Valuation Joint Board’s website, http://www.lothian-vjb.gov.uk/downloads.html.

If you are British, from a Commonwealth country or Irish, this will also make you eligible to vote in the referendum on whether to move to the Alternative Vote system for electing MPs to Westminster instead of the current First Past The Post. For more info on that, got to the Yes to Fairer Votes website, http://www.yestofairervotes.org.

As I said, I'm standing on the regional or list ballot. For the Scottish Parliament, 73 of the 129 MSPs represent individual constituencies. This is sometimes referred to as your first vote & for this you will get a lilac coloured ballot paper. The remaining 56 MSPs are elected from the eight additional member regions, which each elect seven MSPs. This is sometimes referred to as your second vote & is on a peach coloured ballot paper. The referendum is on a white one.

So, if you want to vote for me, look for the line that says "Ken O'Neill, Independent" & put an X against my name.

OK, enough of that. How can you help me get elected? Well, vote for me of course. First though, read my site & see what I stand for. I'm going back to proof reading my manifesto after this & hopefully that will go online tomorrow. If you like what you see, then vote for me on Thursday 5th May.

Next, follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/LothiansKen) &/or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001943657013). The more people who follow me, the more likely someone else is to & the more likely that a journalist will take me seriously. If they take me seriously, the more coverage I get. I don't need to join the dots as you're all intelligent people. Obviously, if you follow me then please retweet or share with your friends what I'm saying.

I could say if/why I would make a good MSP, how I could help you and/or the Forest or how I can make a difference to Edinburgh, the Lothians or the Forest if elected. However, I think I've done enough trumpet blowing on here for now. I'm happy to answer questions, either here or via Formspring (http://www.formspring.me/LothiansKen).

And since you're looking for so much responsibility, maybe run for some kind of 'Forest saviour and beloved ruler'. I know some famous men who were pretty popular with these titles... Of course they ended up being shot on live TV but hey, I have faith in you!

Also, keep the flyers, we might some original decorations for our new building...